In this installment of the ongoing Palmer Morel series, thirty-nine year old tennis pro Palmer Morel and his young girlfriend, Corky Kennedy, have come to New Orleans. Flush with Palmer's recent inheritance of three million dollars they have come to rest and recuperate before Palmer plays in a scheduled tennis tournament, the greater New Orleans Open, featuring the likes of John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors.

Palmer is beginning to wonder how much longer he can keep playing, let alone keep the much younger Corky happy. And while the first week of vacation has been fun, the nights have been difficulty as dreams of doom and death haunt him. He doesn't know what the dreams mean anymore than he knows the meaning of what he saw on the balcony of a movie set as Corky and he passed quickly by on a streetcar. Unlike the dreams, that he could investigate and briefly did before Corky explained it away as the actor and the actress was rehearsing.

Maybe they were and maybe they weren't. Troubled by his dreams of doom and death and what he witnessed, Palmer isn't looking forward to the interruption provided by Bliss, Corky's old friend. The beautiful Bliss arrives like a hurricane stampeding across Palmer and Corky's lives. Her arrival sets off a cascade of events involving wild sex, illicit drug use, and Mob involvement that ends in a shattering and very bloody climax beneath a full moon.

While billed as a mystery there is virtually no mystery involved here at all and very little depth to any of the characters. These characters are known for what they are within a few pages, if not paragraphs, as each one is introduced. Both the Mob boss and the movie director seem to have come from central casting. Palmer is a troubled aging tennis pro, with a hip young and fun girlfriend and an ability to get into trouble no matter where he goes or what he does. Within the first fifty pages of the novel, the parameters of the situation are clearly defined and all that is left as they followed their scripted roles are a few details.

Palmer's angst over the twilight of his career and his future relationship with the much younger Corky, while pushed heavily by the author, comes across as shallow as his studly activities, drug induced or not. The character seems more like a caricature than an actual person to care about and as such, his own drama means little, as do the dramas of the other characters. While often told what to feel through lines in the text, this author does not jump that gap to make the reader actually feel or even care about these shallow characters.

Any alleged story is pushed to the background by the rampant and very graphic sex scenes laced heavily throughout the 210-page novel. Wild sex is the primary theme aided at times by illicit and accidental drug use. Much of the sex is performed by women gone wild as their secret sexual fantasies come to life unleashed by the ingestion of the drug Rohypnol.

What this novel is, instead of being a mystery, is a very graphic men's adventure read. The hero, often injured is still a stud, the women are beautiful and amazingly willing (with or without drugs), the crime guys are Italian and do their typical Mob stuff. For what it really is, a fast paced simplistic storyline and read, it isn't bad.

This third thriller novel from author Brad Thor picks up shortly after events depicted in "Path Of The Assassin" and once again Scot Harvath is quickly involved in the danger. At President Jack Rutledge's personal request, Agent Harvath moved from the Secret Service to a new position within the newly created "Office of International Investigative Assistance" which is part of the ever increasing Department of Homeland Security. The innocuous title hides the mission of the unit, which is to stop terrorists anywhere in the world by any means necessary. Harvath's old friend, mentor, and father figure Gary Lawlor, who was once the former Deputy Director of the FBI, is in charge of the Office. Now Lawlor has gone missing and Harvath is summoned back to Washington.

There is concern at the highest levels that Gary Lawlor has been a double agent, quite possibly for decades. The notion is unthinkable to Harvath because of the close bond they have shared in the wake of the death of Harvath's father years ago. However, as he is briefed, it becomes clear that everything he believed about Lawlor in the past has been a lie pushed forward by a cover image he needed on behalf of the United States Government. Now thanks to string of murders of other members of his intelligence team, several of which called Lawlor just before their deaths, those in charge believe he turned traitor years ago and has now fled. After telling Harvath the background on a "need to know" basis, they warn him off and instead he is supposed to sit back and wait for contact from Lawlor if and when it happens.

After everything he did in the first two novels, it should have been obvious to bosses, just like it is to the casual reader, that the last thing Harvath is going to do is sit back and wait. Harvath begins to work the case in an attempt to clear Lawlor's good name and unwittingly uncovers a Russian plot hatched during the last days of the Cold War. The plan is to return Russia to the ranks of the Super Powers and reduce America to a smoldering pile of nuclear contaminated rubble by way of backpack nuclear weapons in the hands of sleeper agents scattered throughout the country.

Relying more on character development, plotting, and believable scenarios, this novel is a great improvement over the caliber of writing seen in "Path Of The Assassin." While working on the secondary storyline of the slowly developing romantic relationship between Harvath and Meg, the author manages to convey new background information on the Harvath character. Neither storyline gets in the way of the main complex plot that is almost Ludlum like in its complexity.

The storylines also do not get in the way of Brad Thor preaching about the value of Democracy as he sees it or the need for Patriotism. While both are laudable goals, at time the author wields a sledgehammer in regards to both topics. As such, especially towards the end as events build towards a climatic showdown at the National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., the events depicted are pushed to the side to lecture the reader. Such heavy handedness is unnecessary and detracts somewhat from what should be an exciting ending.

However, overall this is a read more on the level with his first effort "The Lions Of Lucerne" and a significant improvement over the second very shallow novel, "Path Of The Assassin." Fortunately for readers new to this series, the author covers the events in the second novel in considerable detail thus sparing readers from wading through that novel. With background details quickly handled, the author plunges full ahead and the result is a fast paced constantly twisting tale in this 333 page novel that is well worth the read.

This third novel in the series finds Max Freeman still living his self imposed exile deep in the Florida Everglades. Picking up a short time after the events depicted in "A Visible Darkness," Max is still able to live in his shack. His isolation, except for the occasional private investigator job for his friend and attorney, Billy Manchester, has allowed him to slowly come to grips with his actions extensively detailed in the first novel "The Blue Edge Of Midnight." However, the past still bothers him and he sees his pain reflected in the eyes of Billy's latest client.

Mark Mayes is a college student in Atlanta, Georgia and is considering going into the seminary. But, before he can do that, he needs answers about a painful family legacy. Mayes has found a number of letters, yellowed and brittle with age, in his grandmother's attic. The letters seem to indicate that his great-grandfather and two uncles who died in 1923 while working for a private company trying to build the first road across the Everglades may have been murdered. That road became the Tamiami Trail and like his long dead relatives something rarely spoken of in his family. If they were murdered, possibly on behalf of the company that was the law to itself in the merciless swamp, Mayes wants to take legal action against the company assuming it or some form of it still exists.

The great building projects have always taken many lives. The Tamiami Trail is no different in that it too is built upon the bones of the dead. But, as Max reads the copies of the letters again in lantern light in his shack, he too is struck by the power of the letters and the message of fear and desperation they convey. Something sinister was at work then and is still at work today resulting on an attempt on Max's life and other efforts to warn him off even before he starts work. It soon becomes clear that there are some that don't care to have the past uncovered and will stop at nothing to keep it that way.

While little is added to the development of the Max Freeman character, the author manages to skillfully build on the characters of others by way of two engaging secondary storylines involving characters familiar to readers of this series. Written with a prose style that reminds the reader of James Lee Burke where a few words create a powerful mental image, Jonathon King consistently brings the beauty of the Everglades alive as well as the despair and evil that lurks in the hearts of some. This author is one of the very few that can pull the reader in so deeply into his world while he delivers a complex and twisting tale of murder and deceit. His books are escapist literature and instead are far from it as they leave mental images not soon forgotten.

Forced out of his home after a heavy snowfall in North Central Idaho by his sick dog, Herb Schultz notices his neighbor's cow is bawling in the barn. His neighbor, Eugene Pettijohn, is well set in his ways and based on the snow around the barn and the absence of any tracks, hasn't milked the cow or tended to her upset calf. After taking care of both animals briefly, he wades through the deep snow to the front door of the house. He peers in as the door is open and sees Eugene, sitting near his table and staring sightlessly through the open doorway, dead of a bullet hole in the chest.

After further helping the animals in the barn, Herb makes his way back home to help his dog and her litter of pups. After that he calls the vet, Dr. Erica Merrill, to get medical help for the animals on both properties and then finally calls the Sheriff before going back to Eugene's place to wait for him.

Dr. Erica Merrill lives and runs her clinic out of her Mother's home, which is surrounded by ranchland owned and operated by other members of her family. Herb has a well-earned reputation for not being able to pay his bills and the last thing Erica wants to do is to add another bill to his account. But, he tells her about the Eugene's death and the dog does need help so she packs her gear and heads out to Herb's place.

After treating the dog she eventually discovers that Herb has been arrested for First Degree Murder, even though he insists strongly that he didn't do it. Because Herb put living animals ahead of the deceased, has a weapon similar to what must have been used to fire the fatal shot, a history of not liking or getting along with the deceased and a well known penchant for getting drunk, District Attorney Kline has had him arrested. If that wasn't enough evidence for Erica who questions the wisdom of arresting Herbert as well as the intellect of the DA, there is a set of tracks leading back and forth from Schultz's place making it clear to the DA that Herb killed. He does not accept any other explanation than his own and before long the absurdity of the situation begins to bug Erica and she publicizes her feelings about the case. Her reputation begins to suffer in the local community as does her struggling practice and with a DA convinced he has his man, Erica sees no choice but to start asking questions and investigate the case herself.

This interesting cozy style murder mystery features an incredibly large cast of characters, which at times threatens to bog down the reader. With so many relations by blood or marriage as well as numerous other characters involved, it sometimes becomes difficult to keep track of what is going on without a multi page flow chart.

At the same time, the case is interesting and the author does keep the reader involved as the book slowly moves forward. Vivid descriptions of setting and background information build upon the complexity of the work and make this novel overall, worth reading.

In this debut novel, author Peter Spiegelman has created a complex and entertaining character, John March, who hopefully will be at the center of many mysteries to come. John March is now a private investigator three years after his life collapsed with the death of his wife thanks to a serial killer he was stalking on behalf of his employer at the time, the FBI. The pain is still fresh as are the constant and well-meaning efforts from family concerning his chosen profession. After all they reason, when one is born to money one should stay in a money field to make more and what he does for a living is so unseemly.

But March goes his own way as most loners do and at the request of a friend takes the strange case of Rick Pierro. Rick is wealthy by anyone's standards and is being blackmailed. From documents the blackmailer supplied and is threatening to use, it appears that Rick was a small part of a massive money-laundering scheme years ago. Part of the scheme has come to light in the last year or so and multiple investigations are underway. While Rick admits to doing business deals with the principals named in the documents, he claims that the documents themselves are fakes and that all his deals were and still are legit. With his job on Wall Street in jeopardy, Rick wants to pay off the blackmailer once, if the person can be convinced not to come back for more. Rick can't afford a hint of scandal should anything come out but has no intention of being bled dry either.

March thinks the whole deal is strange and problematic at best but agrees to do what he can. Before long, he suspects that Rick is lying to him and that Rick isn't the only one that the blackmailer has blackmailed. But the blackmailer, who takes offense at being looked for isn't the only one that has resources to deal with March. So too does a Federal Prosecutor and her task force which have to show result from months of investigation and at this point, they don't care how they go about it.

Hammered from all sides, March works the case in this complex and enjoyable novel. March is multi layered and complex as are many of the supporting characters. These characters were not cut out from cardboard but are instead created and soon come alive in the reader's imagination as the work moves forward.

At the same time, the storyline continually twists and turns as the novel works towards a conclusion hidden in the shadows. Nothing is what it seems or appears to be and as things move forward, events and characters get murkier and murkier in this gritty novel. This is an amazing book that this review does not do justice and is well worth the read.

It begins in a small village in Normandy, France in 1905. The narrator, Denis Borel, suddenly wealthy by the standards of the time has purchased a small cottage and retired from the hectic life of Paris. Alone except for the company of a manservant and a gardener, he spends his days playing his beloved Stradivarius violin and enjoys his solitude and music. Then one night, as he sits in his gazebo thinking about music, a strange light fills the night sky and a thunderous roar shakes the valley.

He learns from a neighbor that a hanger belonging to Dr. Omega has exploded. Borel knew nothing of Dr. Omega but learns quickly that others know of him and consider him something more than eccentric. According to his gardener....

"'He's an old gentleman with white hair dressed in black. There's something odd about him. The farmers think he's some kind of warlock, that he's got powers...Some are afraid of him, they think he has the evil eye....They avoid him like the plague....'" (Page 17)

After another night of strange dreams he sees Dr. Omega walking nearby and he becomes an obsession for Borel. He can't get the man out of his mind and constantly wonders what Dr. Omega is doing. He eventually goes to see the damage for himself and meets Dr. Omega. After a few more days and more visits with Dr. Omega he is stunned to learn that Dr. Omega is building a ship out of some strange metal and it planning to go to Mars. Dr. Omega wants Borel to make the trip with him.

"'I am looking for a man of courage to be my companion on a fantastic voyage-the word is not too strong-an extraordinary journey that I have long labored to make possible.'" (Page 33)

Dr. Omega wants Borel to make the trip not just to Mars, but a visit to a Mars of the distant past, as the spaceship will cross space as well as time. Borel agrees and what follows is his narrative of the shipbuilding process, launch, and resulting numerous perilous adventures on Mars. Reminiscent of Jules Verne, it truly is a fantastic voyage across space and time that catapults the reader into a world that might have been. Fans of Doctor Who will surely note the amazing description of Dr. Omega and his ship, Cosmos, and the many similarities.

And maybe that is why this reader enjoyed the book so much. Or maybe it is because as part of classic pulp fiction, it harkens back to a wonderful time, when anything was possible in the intermingled worlds of science fiction and fantasy. Unlike many movies and novels of today that set a scene of cataclysmic destruction with a planet destroyed by chemical, biological, nuclear, or something else, this novel presents wondrous possibilities while occasionally mixing in for the more critical reader a little social commentary.

In short, this was simply a wonderful novel written in a style that just isn't done anymore. The added black and while illustrations from the original French publication in 1906 in the collector's edition are a very nice touch. They, along with the surrounding incredible story, make the collector's edition well worth owning as well as passing down to children. With all the violence and negativity reflected in today's fiction, regardless of the genre, it is very refreshing to read a work full of the potential of the human race and full of wonder.

Picking up an unspecified short time after events in "The Big Dig" Private Investigator Carlotta Carlyle has a sense that someone is watching her as she runs errands. She soon spots him and he isn't very good at tailing her. She eventually confronts the man who isn't very good at hiring a private investigator either.

What the middle aged black man is good at is being a professor at nearby Harvard University. Dr. Wilson Chaney has a major problem. He recently had an affair with a student in one of his classes who subsequently died after the affair ended. He can't deny the affair should word leak out as someone has proof in the form of love letters he wrote the dead woman. Someone is using those letters to blackmail the professor, one letter at a time. He has already paid once, thinking that would be the end of it. Of course, it wasn't and now the blackmailer is back. The blackmailer is offering to sell him another letter at a hefty price increase.

For the professor, the problem isn't that he is black and the student was white. The issue is that this was the latest in a whole series of affairs he has conducted over the years, often with students. The political climate at Colleges and Universities has changed and with families suing schools, such behavior is no longer expected, accepted, and tolerated. It could cost him his prestigious, though non-tenured, position at Harvard as well as what is left of his shaky marriage. He can't afford to lose either for a variety of reasons. There are other considerations as well, which he refuses to specify, and Dr. Chaney wants help.

Despite the fact that Carlyle finds the man and his behavior to her and others despicable, she agrees to accept the case and begins looking for the blackmailer. Her mission is not to involve law enforcement but to instead, find a way to blackmail the blackmailer so that he or she stops. Carlyle has a couple of ideas how to go about this and as she works, it becomes increasingly clear that neither idea has any chance of success. In fact, as she investigates, the case becomes increasingly complex and goes in ways that she never saw coming and she has no idea who is doing what. But the blackmailer knows exactly what Carlyle is doing and what she wants and has no intention of putting up with Carlyle wandering around getting in the way and ruining a perfectly good payday.

While an interesting premise, something went wrong in the execution. Not only are most of the characters outside of Carlyle's circle of friends despicable in many ways, the read itself is flat and boring. While Carlyle tells the reader repeatedly how upset she is, how much she misses Sam (her on again off again love interest who now happens to be a major player in the Mob and not around), or how confused she is about her new relationship with FBI Agent Leonard Wells (first introduced in "The Big Dig") we never feel it. Instead, while constantly told, the connection with the reader is never made and as such, for this reader at least, never drawn into the world of the book. Left out and looking in, this slow book moves ponderously forward as Carlyle ruminates endlessly on what to do.

It doesn't matter if it is her personal life or her professional one, she constantly reminds one and all that they have to take her as is, and then doesn't have a clue what to do next. Unfortunately that has been the underlying theme of the last couple novels and this is no exception. While often thinking about her love life and how messed up it is she drifts from one weak lead to another working the case. In almost every meeting, the character she deals with is from the lower end of the gene pool and should be encouraged to crawl back under the rock he or she came from.

The ending does finally come after 310 pages but it takes a long time to get there. For those that are already familiar with the series, this one is one to skip. Nothing new happens and no advancement at all occurs in terms of character development. For those new to the series, this one could easily be read as a stand alone as except for a few vague references to the past, it deals with the present and does not reveal events from previous books. However, while it is a stand alone in that sense, it is not a good introduction to the author or her normally enjoyable work.

Every so often, one has to clean out the refrigerator and the freezer. Dinner becomes "leftovers" with a little of this or that. No one is thrilled with the resulting hodgepodge of foods, but it has to be done from time to time. Occasionally, an author will do the same sort of thing by winding up various storylines and interspersing characters from other series. Stuart Woods certainly used the technique in his latest shallow Stone Barrington novel titled "Reckless Abandon."

While the title could easily relate to the always studly Stone Barrington's way with women (usually several over the course of the novel) in this case it refers to the actions of Holly Barker, Police Chief of Orchid Beach, Florida. Coming over from the Orchid series, she is on the trail of a fugitive. She is chasing Trini Rodriguez and has a mass murder warrant for him. The problem is that the FBI has placed him in the Witness Protection Program because he is helping them with an investigation into a terrorist cell with links to the Middle East. Trini is a member of the Mafia and Holly believes that he is hiding out in New York City.

Stone takes her to Little Italy for lunch and within minutes; Holly spots Trini walking by and gives chase. She loses him almost as quickly and vows once again to get her man, one-way or the other. That becomes the primary theme of the novel. Holly, with Stone and his longtime ally, Dino, and occasionally others, pursue Trini across the country and back to New York, nearly having him before losing him again and again thanks to the FBI and/or the Mafia.

There are numerous side storylines in this novel as well and far too many to be mentioned here. Suffice it to say that several which have lingered from previous novels are solved and neatly tucked away while the novel also serves as a launching road for a new storyline and possibly a new series. As such, since those storylines are covered in detail, for those readers who start with this book, there will be no need to read earlier ones from the last couple of years.

This is typical Stone Barrington. He gets the beautiful lady, routinely exhausts himself in the bedroom or elsewhere in the process, and runs around New York driving expensive cars and eating fine foods. Thanks to his connections, he always outsmarts everyone and unlike Bond, there are no fussy superiors to deal with. Life is good.

One can't pick up the paper or watch the news these days without seeing a story about how video games are the root cause of all evil in the world. The theory being that because of the violence in video games, kids are acting out more and getting into serious trouble, even death. But what if a killer actually used a game as a way not only to kill but to also devastate the game's creators? That is the backdrop for this intense novel by a mother/daughter writing team using the name of P. J. Tracy.

The game is SKUD, which stands for Serial Killer Detective. Created by the five somewhat eccentric owners of the computer company Monkeewrench, the game has 17 murder scenarios featuring increasing difficulty. The player is to work each crime scene as a real life detective and build upon the evidence while shrinking the list of suspects until the killer is found. A test version is up on the Internet for advance orders and so far, out of the large number playing the game, no one has gotten very far in playing their creation. But the orders are pouring in and the group stands to be rich.

That is until someone in real life starts duplicating the cyber death scenes in the game down to every last detail. Not only is a serial killer using their game as a springboard to kill he begins to very personally taunt the police as well as the Monkeewrench group. While distrustful of the police for good reason as the complicated back-story explains, the group is forced into cooperating with the police in a search for the killer as their shared nightmare comes alive once again.

Sometimes when a novel is written by more than one person, the resulting effort is a choppy and uneven read. That isn't the case here where this writing team has crafted a seamless thriller full of complicated characters, vivid descriptions, occasional humor, and a complex multi layered plot. Nor does the book go off into a tangent and in great detail about the game. The game is a backdrop but not the focus as the real focus is character development and the hunt for the killer. This book comes alive for the reader and the resulting work is extremely hard to put down unfinished.

The hunt that began in the debut novel "The Lions of Lucerne" for the terrorists that attacked the President and his family continues in this sequel. With the President and his family safe once again, Secret Service Agent Scot Harvath's mission is to find all those responsible for the plot. The final suspect of the Swiss mercenary team known as the Lions of Lucerne is expected to appear at the Macua Place Casino, a very old and still floating double-decker ferry casino, currently anchored at sea 60 kilometers west of Hong Kong.

The suspect appears across the gaming floor and before they can grab him he leaves. The chase is on as they follow the suspect back across to Macua and before long as a typhoon bears down on the area, they are engaged in a fierce running gun battle with the suspect. But the suspect isn't just shooting at them. He is also shooting at someone else, a figure that has silver eyes. When the suspect is killed by the figure with silver eyes, Scott begins chasing that suspect and despite the resulting harrowing car chase, the suspect gets away.

At the same time, a group billing itself as The Hand Of God begins to unleash a series of coordinated attacks across the Arab world. Thanks to evidence left at the scenes and public press releases, it appears that the Israeli Government is sponsoring and supporting the group that aims to bring terror to the Arab world. Scot, temporarily back home, believes that instead, it might be the work of Hashim Nidal, the son of the famous terrorist, Abu Nidal. Scot further suspects that Hashim might very well be the suspect with the silver eyes that got away. Despite political infighting and conflicting orders, he begins a worldwide manhunt for both suspects while remaining convinced that they are the same person.

Unlike the debut novel "The Lions of Lucerne" which was full of complex characters and numerous plot twists, this thriller is a straightforward action adventure read that is simplistic in style and tone. The novel seems written entirely for depiction as a movie in an attempt to replace the cinematic James Bond series. No additional depth is given to his character, every decision he makes is right despite working for always idiotic bosses, and no matter the circumstances, he pulls all the other cardboard characters out of danger almost single handily each and every single time. Other than his love interest and one or two associates, almost everyone else is this novel is a fool.

Taken for what it actually is, a fast simplistic adventure read, this is not a bad book. But as compared to The Lions of Lucerne, the contrast is striking and disappointing. It suffers mightily in comparison.